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1.
Atmospheric water vapor abundances in Mars’ north polar region (NPR, from 60° to 90°N) are mapped as function of latitude and longitude for spring and summer seasons, and their spatial, seasonal, and interannual variability is discussed. Water vapor data are from Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) and the Viking Orbiter (VO) Mars Atmospheric Water Detector (MAWD). The data cover three complete northern spring-summer seasons in 1977-1978, 2000-2001 and 2002-2003, and shorter periods of spring-summer seasons during 1975, 1999 and 2004. Long term interannual variability in the averaged NPR abundances may exist, with Viking MAWD observations showing twice as much water vapor during summer as the MGS TES observations more than 10 martian years (MY) later. While the averaged abundances are very similar in TES observations for the same season in different years, the spatial distributions in the early summer season do vary significantly year over year. Spatial and temporal variabilities increase between Ls ∼ 80-140°, which may be related to vapor sublimation from the North Polar Residual Cap (NPRC), or to changes in circulation. Spatial variability is observed on scales of ∼100 km and temporal variability is observed on scales of <10 sols during summer. During late spring the TES water vapor spatial distribution is seen to correlate with the low topography/low albedo region of northern Acidalia Planitia (270-360°E), and with the dust spatial distribution across the NPR during late spring-early summer. Non-uniform vertical distribution of water vapor, a regolith source or atmospheric circulation ‘pooling’ of water vapor from the NPRC into the topographic depression may be behind the correlation with low topography/low albedo. Sublimation winds carrying water vapor off the NPRC and lifting surface dust in the areas surrounding the NPRC may explain the correlation between the water vapor and dust spatial distributions. Correlation between water vapor and dust in MAWD data are only observed over low topography/low albedo area. Maximum water vapor abundances are observed at Ls = 105-115° and outside of the NPRC at 75-80°N; the TES data, however, do not extend over the NPRC and thus, this conclusion may be biased. Some water vapor appears to be released in plumes or ‘outbursts’ in the MAWD and TES datasets during late spring and early summer. We propose that the sublimation rate of ice varies across the NPRC with varying surface winds, giving rise to the observed ‘outbursts’ at some seasons. 相似文献
2.
Following the work of Kieffer and Titus (2001, Icarus 154, 162-180), we present results of thermal IR observations of Korolev crater, located at ∼73° latitude in the martian northern polar region. Similar to techniques employed by Titus et al. (2003, Science 299, 1048-1050), we use infrared images from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) aboard Mars Odyssey to identify several regions within the crater basin with distinct thermal properties that correlate with topography. The THEMIS results show these regions exhibit temperature variations, spatially within the crater and throughout the martian year. In addition to the variations identified in the THEMIS observations, Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) observations show differences in albedo and temperature of these regions on both daily and seasonal cycles. Modeling annual temperature variations of the surface, we use TES observations to examine the thermal properties of these regions. This analysis reveals the crater interior deposits are likely thick layers (several meters) of high thermal inertia material (water ice, or extremely ice-rich regolith). Spatial variations of the physical properties of these regions are likely due to topography and possibly variations in the subsurface material itself. The nature of these deposits may help constrain polar processes, as well as provide context for the polar lander mission, Phoenix. 相似文献
3.
Images of Mars in the visible to near-infrared acquired from 1996 to 2005 using the Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 have been used to model the martian surface photometric function at 502, 673, 953, and 1042 nm. These data range in spatial resolution from 12 to 70 km/pixel at the sub-Earth point, and in phase angle coverage from 0.34° to 40.5°. The WFPC2 images have been calibrated to radiance factor or I/F and projected to a cylindrical map for coregistration and comparison to similarly mapped spacecraft data sets of albedo, topography, thermal inertia, composition, and geology. We modeled the observed I/F as a function of phase angle using Minnaert, Lambert, lunar-Lambert, and Hapke photometric functions for numerous regions of interest binned into albedo units defined by Viking and TES albedo maps, and thermal-inertia units defined by TES thermal-inertia maps. Visibly opaque water-ice clouds and data acquired under high dust opacity conditions were excluded from the analysis. Our modeling suggests that under average to low atmospheric dust opacity conditions and over this range of phase angles, the photometric properties of the martian surface at 502, 673, 953, and 1042 nm are best modeled by lunar-Lambert functions with parameters derived for three surface units defined by low, moderate, and high TES bolometric albedos. 相似文献
4.
Joshua L. Bandfield 《Icarus》2009,202(2):414-8420
Slopes are present in martian apparent surface emissivity observations collected by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) and the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS). These slopes are attributed to misrepresenting the surface temperature, either through incorrect assumptions about the maximum emissivity of surface materials or the presumption of a uniform surface temperature within the field of view. These incorrect assumptions leave distinct characteristics in the resulting apparent emissivity data that can be used to gain a better understanding of the surface properties. Surfaces with steep slopes typically have a variable surface temperatures within the field of view that cause distinct and highly variable slopes in apparent emissivity spectra based on the observing conditions. These properties are documented on the southwestern flank of Apollinaris Patera and can be reasonably approximated by modeled data. This spectral behavior is associated with extremely rough martian surfaces and includes surfaces south of Arsia Mons and near Warrego Valles that also appear to have high slopes in high resolution images. Surfaces with low maximum values of emissivity have apparent emissivity spectra with more consistent spectral slopes that do not vary greatly based on observing conditions. This spectral surface type is documented in Terra Serenum and is consistent with associated high resolution images that do not indicate the presence of a surface significantly rougher that the surrounding terrain. 相似文献
5.
Current methods for deriving thermal inertia from spacecraft observations of planetary brightness temperature generally assume that surface properties are uniform for any given observation or co-located set of observations. As a result of this assumption and the nonlinear relationship between temperature and thermal inertia, sub-pixel horizontal heterogeneity may yield different apparent thermal inertia at different times of day or seasons. We examine the effects of horizontal heterogeneity on Mars by modeling the thermal behavior of various idealized mixed surfaces containing differing proportions of either dust, sand, duricrust, and rock or slope facets at different angles and azimuths. Latitudinal effects on mixed-surface thermal behavior are also investigated. We find large (several 100 J m−2 K−1 s−1/2) diurnal and seasonal variations in apparent thermal inertia even for small (∼10%) admixtures of materials with moderately contrasting thermal properties or slope angles. Together with similar results for layered surfaces [Mellon, M.T., Putzig, N.E., 2007. Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXVIII. Abstract 2184], this work shows that the effects of heterogeneity on the thermal behavior of the martian surface are substantial and may be expected to result in large variations in apparent thermal inertia as derived from spacecraft instruments. While our results caution against the over-interpretation of thermal inertia taken from median or average maps or derived from single temperature measurements, they also suggest the possibility of using a suite of apparent thermal inertia values derived from single observations over a range of times of day and seasons to constrain the heterogeneity of the martian surface. 相似文献
6.
Michael D. Smith 《Icarus》2009,202(2):444-452
We use infrared images obtained by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument on-board Mars Odyssey to retrieve the optical depth of dust and water ice aerosols over more than 3.5 martian years between February 2002 (MY 25, Ls=330°) and December 2008 (MY 29, Ls=183°). These data provide an important bridge between earlier TES observations and recent observations from Mars Express and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. An improvement to our earlier retrieval [Smith, M.D., Bandfield, J.L., Christensen, P.R., Richardson, M.I., 2003. J. Geophys. Res. 108, doi:10.1029/2003JE002114] to include atmospheric temperature information from THEMIS Band 10 observations leads to much improved retrievals during the largest dust storms. The new retrievals show moderate dust storm activity during Mars Years 26 and 27, although details of the strength and timing of dust storms is different from year to year. A planet-encircling dust storm event was observed during Mars Year 28 near Southern Hemisphere Summer solstice. A belt of low-latitude water ice clouds was observed during the aphelion season during each year, Mars Years 26 through 29. The optical depth of water ice clouds is somewhat higher in the THEMIS retrievals at ∼5:00 PM local time than in the TES retrievals at ∼2:00 PM, suggestive of possible local time variation of clouds. 相似文献
7.
Accelerometer measurements made by Spirit and Opportunity during their entries through the martian atmosphere are reported. Vertical profiles of atmospheric density, pressure, and temperature with sub-km vertical resolution were obtained using these data between 10 and 100 km. Spirit's temperature profile is ∼10 K warmer than Opportunity's between 20 and 80 km. Unlike all other martian entry profiles, Spirit's temperature profile does not contain any large amplitude, long wavelength oscillations and is nearly isothermal below 30 km. Opportunity's temperature profile contains a strong inversion between 8 and 12 km. A moderate dust storm, which occurred on Mars shortly before these two atmospheric entries, may account for some of the differences between the two profiles. The poorly known angle of attack and unknown wind velocity may cause the temperature profiles to contain errors of tens of Kelvin at 10 km, but these errors would be an order of magnitude smaller above 30 km. On broad scales, the two profiles are consistent with Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) pressure/temperature profiles. Differences exist on smaller scales, particularly associated with the near-isothermal portion of Spirit's profile and the temperature inversion in Opportunity's profile. 相似文献
8.
This paper reports on mapping of water frost and ice on Mars, in the range of latitudes between 30°S and 30°N. The study has been carried out by analysing 2485 orbits acquired during almost one martian year by the Mars Express/OMEGA imaging spectrometer. Water frost/ice is identified by the presence of ∼1.5 μm, ∼2 μm and ∼3.0 μm absorptions. Although the orbits analysed in this study cover all seasons, water frost/ice is observed only near the aphelion seasons, at Ls = 19° and at Ls = 98-150°. Water frost/ice is detected mainly on the southern hemisphere between 15°S and 30°S latitude while it has not been identified within 15°S-15°N. In the northern hemisphere, the water frost/ice detection is complicated by the presence of clouds. Usually, water frost/ice is found in shadowed areas, while in few cases it is exposed to the sunlight. This indicates a clear relationship with the local illumination conditions on the slopes which favour the water frost/ice deposition on the surface when the temperatures are very low. OMEGA observations span from 10 to 17 LT and the frost/ice is detected mainly between 15 and 16 LT, with practically no detection before 13 LT. We think this is due to the fact that the 10-12 LT observations occur at large distances and it is not a local time effect. A thermal model is used to determine the deposition conditions on the sloped surfaces where water frost/ice has been found. There, daily atmospheric saturation does not occur on pole facing 10-25° slopes with current water vapour abundances but only by assuming values greater than 40 pr μm. Moreover, the water frost/ice is not detected during the northern winter, even if the thermal model foresees daily saturation on 25° slopes. 相似文献
9.
Validation of martian meteorological data assimilation for MGS/TES using radio occultation measurements 总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1
We describe an assimilation of thermal profiles below about 40 km altitude and total dust opacities into a general circulation model (GCM) of the martian atmosphere. The data were provided by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) on board the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft. The results of the assimilation are verified against an independent source of contemporaneous data represented by radio occultation measurements with an ultra-stable radio oscillator, also aboard MGS. This paper describes a comparison between temperature profiles retrieved by the radio occultation experiments and the corresponding profiles given by both an independent, carefully tuned GCM simulation and by an assimilation of TES observations performed over the period of time from middle, northern summer in martian year 24, corresponding to May 1999, until late, northern spring in martian year 27, corresponding to August 2004. This study shows that the assimilation of TES measurements improves the overall agreement between radio occultation observations and the GCM analysis, in particular below 20 km altitude, where the radio occultation measurements are known to be most accurate. Discrepancies still remain, mostly during the global dust storm of year 2001 and at latitudes around 60° N in northern winter-early spring. These are the periods of time and locations, however, for which discrepancies between TES and radio occultation profiles are also shown to be the largest. Finally, a further direct validation is performed, comparing stationary waves at selected latitudes and time of year. Apart from biases at high latitudes in winter time, data assimilation is able to represent the correct wave behaviour, which is one major objective for martian assimilation. 相似文献
10.
A method for separating the spectral signatures of the Martian surface and atmosphere was developed and is applied to multiple emission angle data returned from the MGS TES instrument. This method includes correlated-k and index gas removal algorithms that may be applied to all nadir-pointing TES data. Initial results have provided new and refined measurements of the spectral shapes of atmospheric dust and the Martian surface. Surface temperatures and atmospheric dust opacities are also retrieved with improved accuracy over single observation temperature and opacity retrievals. Low-albedo surfaces display absorptions consistent in both shape and depth with previous studies. These surfaces may be closely modeled using a combination of previously derived basalt, andesitic, and high-albedo surface spectral shapes. Short wavelengths display no significant absorptions, indicating both the coarse particulate nature of the surface and the lack of significant amounts of carbonate. Moderate- and high-albedo surfaces have spectral shapes distinctive of fine particulate silicate materials. No single material can match the entire high-albedo surface spectrum, though there are clear indications of a material that closely matches intermediate to calcic plagioclase and an emission peak at ∼1620 cm−1 due to bound water. The lack of residual restrahlen silicate absorptions indicates that minerals such as olivine or pyroxene are not present in high-albedo surfaces at significant (but unknown) abundances. High-albedo surface results presented here are in agreement with and complementary to shorter wavelength observations. The Martian dust is composed of both primary and secondary minerals. Either chemical weathering has not completely altered its source material or the soil is a mixture of altered and unaltered sources. Further laboratory studies are needed to better establish detection limits and behavior of mineral mixtures of fine particulates in the thermal infrared portion of the spectrum. 相似文献
11.
The interval from Ls = 330° in Mars Year (MY) 26 until Ls = 84° in MY 27 has been used to compare and validate measurements from the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) and the Mars Express Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS). We studied differences between atmospheric temperatures observed by the two instruments. The best agreement between atmospheric temperatures was found at 50 Pa between 40°S and 40°N latitude, where differences were within ±5 K. For other atmospheric levels, differences as large as ∼25 K were observed between the two instruments at some locations. The largest temperature differences occurred mainly over the Hellas Planitia, Argyre Planitia, Tharsis and Valles Marineris regions.On this basis we report on the variability of the martian atmosphere during the 5.5 martian years of Mars climatology obtained by combining the two data sets from TES and PFS. Atmospheric temperatures at 50 Pa responded to the global-scale dust storms of MY 25 and in MY 28 raising temperatures from ∼220 K to ∼250 K during the daytime. An atmospheric temperature of ∼140 K at 50 Pa was observed poleward of 70°N during northern winter and poleward of 60°S during southern winter each year in both the PFS and TES results. Water vapor observed by the two spectrometers showed consistent seasonal and latitudinal variations. 相似文献
12.
We report on mid-resolution (R∼2000) spectroscopic observations of Titan, acquired in November 2000 with the Very Large Telescope and covering the range 4.75-5.07 μm. These observations provide a detailed characterization of the CO (1-0) vibrational band, clearly separating for the first time individual CO lines (P10 to P19 lines of 13CO). They indicate that the CO/N2 mixing ratio in Titan’s troposphere is 32±10 ppm. Comparison with photochemical models indicates that CO is not in a steady state in Titan’s atmosphere. The observations confirm that Titan’s 5-μm continuum geometric albedo is ∼0.06, and further indicates a ∼20% albedo decrease over 4.98-5.07 μm. Nonzero flux is detected at the 0.01 geometric albedo level in the saturated core of the 12CO (1-0) band, at 4.75-4.85 μm, providing evidence for backscattering on the stratospheric haze. Finally, emission lines are detected at 4.75-4.835 μm, coinciding in position with lines from the CO(1-0) and/or CO(2-1) bands. Matching them by thermal emission would require Titan’s stratosphere to be much warmer (by ∼ 25 K at 0.1 mbar) than indicated by the methane 7.7-μm emission and the Voyager radio-occultation. We show instead that a nonthermal mechanism, namely solar-excited fluorescence, is a more plausible source for these emissions. Improved observations and laboratory measurements on the vibrational-translational relaxation of CO are needed for further interpretation of these emissions in terms of a CO stratospheric mixing ratio. 相似文献
13.
D. Baratoux N. Mangold A. Cord Y. Daydou P. Masson The HRSC CO-Investigator Team 《Icarus》2006,183(1):30-45
Slope streaks are gravity-driven albedo features observed on martian slopes since the Viking missions. The debated mechanism of formation could involve alternatively dry granular flow or wet mass wasting. A systematic mapping of slope streaks from the High Resolution Stereo Camera is presented in this paper. Two regions known for their slope streaks activity have been studied, the first one is located close to Cerberus lava flow, and the second one is inside the Olympus Mons Aureole. The statistics of slope streaks shapes measured from orthorectified images confirm previous results from Mars Orbiter Camera surveys. Preferential orientations of slope streaks are reported. Slope streaks occur preferentially on west facing slopes at latitudes lower than 30° N for Olympus and on south-west facing slopes for Cerberus. Wind directions derived from a General Circulation Model during the dusty season correlate with these orientations. Furthermore, west facing slopes at Olympus have a thicker dust cover. These observations indicate that slope streaks are dust avalanches controlled by the preferential accumulation of dust in the downstream side of the wind flow. The paucity of slope streaks at high latitudes and their preferential orientation on south-facing slopes have been presented as an evidence for a potential role of H2O phase transition in triggering or flow. The potential role of H2O cannot be ruled out from our observations but the dust avalanche model together with the atmospheric circulation could potentially explain all observations. The role of H2O might be limited to a stabilizing effect of dust deposits on northward facing slopes at intermediate latitudes (30° N-33° N) and on all slopes further north. 相似文献
14.
CCD observations of Mercury were obtained with the large angle spectrometric coronograph (LASCO) on the solar and heliospheric observatory spacecraft, near superior and inferior solar conjunctions. Whole disk photometry was extracted from the orange and blue filter images and transformed to V magnitudes on the UBV system. The LASCO data were combined with ground-based, V-filter photometry acquired at larger elongation angles. The resulting photometric phase function covers the greatest span of angles to date and is the first wide-range function to be obtained since the era of visual observation. We analyzed the data using a polynomial fit and a Hapke function fit, and derived the following photometric results. Mercury's fully lit brightness, adjusted to a distance of 1.0 AU from the Sun and observer, was found to be V=−0.694(±0.030), which is more luminous than previously measured. The corresponding geometric albedo is 0.142(±0.005). The phase integral is 0.478(±0.005) and resulting spherical albedo is 0.068(±0.003). The upper limit of a possible rotational brightness variation is about 0.05 magnitude. Mercury's brightness surges by more than 40% between phase angles 10 and 2°, while the illuminated fraction of the disk increases by less than 1%. A set of coefficients for Hapke's function that fit most of the phase curve includes h=0.065±0.002 indicating that Mercury and the Moon have similar regolith compaction states and particle size distributions, and θ-bar=16°±1° implying a macroscopically smoother surface than the Moon. However, we found other solutions that fit the observations nearly as well with significantly smaller and larger values of h, and with values of θ-bar around 25°. The wide range for θ-bar is due to the inability of the model to fit the photometry obtained at large phase angles. 相似文献
15.
The Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument has returned over 200 million thermal infrared spectra of Mars taken between March 1999 and August 2004. This represents one of the most complete records of spatial and temporal changes of the martian atmosphere ever recorded by an orbiting spacecraft. Previous reports of the standard TES retrieval of aerosol optical depth have been limited to those observations taken over surfaces with temperatures above 210 K, limiting the spatiotemporal coverage of Polar Regions with TES. Here, we present an extension to the standard TES retrieval that better models the effects of cold surfaces below 200 K. This modification allows aerosol optical depth to be retrieved from TES spectra over a greater spatiotemporal range than was previously possible, specifically in Polar Regions. This new algorithm is applied to the Polar Regions to show the seasonal variability in dust and ice optical depth for the complete temporal range of the TES database (Mars Year 24, Ls=104°, 1 March 1999 to Mars Year 24, Ls=82°, 31 August 2004). 相似文献
16.
Recent observations suggest methane in the martian atmosphere is variable on short spatial and temporal scales. However, to explain the variability by loss reactions requires production rates much larger than expected. Here, we report results of laboratory studies of methane adsorption onto JSC-Mars-1, a martian soil simulant, and suggest that this process could explain the observations. Uptake coefficient (γ) values were measured as a function of temperature using a high-vacuum Knudsen cell able to simulate martian temperature and pressure conditions. Values of γ were measured from 115 to 135 K, and the data were extrapolated to higher temperatures with more relevance to Mars. Adsorptive uptake was found to increase at lower temperatures and larger methane partial pressures. Although only sub-monolayer methane surface coverage is likely to exist under martian conditions, a very large mineral surface area is available for adsorption as atmospheric methane can diffuse meters into the regolith. As a result, significant methane may be temporarily lost to the regolith on a seasonal time scale. As this weak adsorption is fully reversible, methane will be re-released into the atmosphere when surface and subsurface temperatures rise and so no net loss of methane occurs. Heterogeneous interaction of methane with martian soil grains is the only process proposed thus far which contains both rapid methane loss and rapid methane production mechanisms and is thus fully consistent with the reported variability of methane on Mars. 相似文献
17.
The extensive impact cratering record on Mars combined with evidence from SNC meteorites suggests that a significant fraction of the surface is composed of materials subjected to variable shock pressures. Pressure-induced structural changes in minerals during high-pressure shock events alter their thermal infrared spectral emission features, particularly for feldspars, in a predictable fashion. To understand the degree to which the distribution and magnitude of shock effects influence martian surface mineralogy, we used standard spectral mineral libraries supplemented by laboratory spectra of experimentally shocked bytownite feldspar [Johnson, J.R., Hörz, F., Christensen, P., Lucey, P.G., 2002b. J. Geophys. Res. 107 (E10), doi:10.1029/2001JE001517] to deconvolve Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) data from six relatively large (>50 km) impact craters on Mars. We used both TES orbital data and TES mosaics (emission phase function sequences) to study local and regional areas near the craters, and compared the differences between models using single TES detector data and 3×2 detector-averaged data. Inclusion of shocked feldspar spectra in the deconvolution models consistently improved the rms errors compared to models in which the spectra were not used, and resulted in modeled shocked feldspar abundances of >15% in some regions. However, the magnitudes of model rms error improvements were within the noise equivalent rms errors for the TES instrument [Hamilton V., personal communication]. This suggests that while shocked feldspars may be a component of the regions studied, their presence cannot be conclusively demonstrated in the TES data analyzed here. If the distributions of shocked feldspars suggested by the models are real, the lack of spatial correlation to crater materials may reflect extensive aeolian mixing of martian regolith materials composed of variably shocked impact ejecta from both local and distant sources. 相似文献
18.
Radiative control of surface temperature is a key characteristic of the martian environment and its low-density atmosphere. Here we show through meteorological modeling that surface temperature can be far from radiative equilibrium over numerous sloping terrains on Mars, where nighttime mesoscale katabatic winds impact the surface energy budget. Katabatic circulations induce both adiabatic atmospheric heating and enhancement of downward sensible heat flux, which then becomes comparable to radiative flux and acts to warm the ground. Through this mechanism, surface temperature can increase up to 20 K. One consequence is that warm signatures of surface temperature over slopes, observed through infrared spectrometry, cannot be systematically associated with contrasts of intrinsic soil thermal inertia. Apparent thermal inertia maps retrieved thus far possibly contain wind-induced structures. Another consequence is that surface temperature observations close to sloping terrains could allow the validation of model predictions for martian katabatic winds, provided contrasts in intrinsic thermal inertia can be ruled out. The thermal impact of winds is mostly discussed in this paper in the particular cases of Olympus Mons/Lycus Sulci and Terra Meridiani but is generally significant over any sloped terrains in low thermal inertia areas. It is even general enough to apply under daytime conditions, thereby providing a possible explanation for observed afternoon surface cooling, and to ice-covered terrains, thereby providing new insights on how winds could have shaped the present surface of Mars. 相似文献
19.
B.J. Buratti C. Sotin M.D. Hicks J.A. Mosher R. Jaumann P.D. Nicholson D.P. Simonelli 《Planetary and Space Science》2006,54(15):1498-1509
Cassini observations of the surface of Titan offer unprecedented views of its surface through atmospheric windows in the 1-5 μm region. Images obtained in windows for which the haze opacity is low can be used to derive quantitative photometric parameters such as albedo and albedo distribution, and physical properties such as roughness and particle characteristics. Images from the early Titan flybys, particularly T0, Ta, and T5 have been analyzed to create albedo maps in the 2.01 and 2.73 μm windows. We find the average normal reflectance at these two wavelengths to be 0.15±0.02 and 0.035±0.003, respectively. Titan's surface is bifurcated into two albedo regimes, particularly at 2.01 μm. Analysis of these two regimes to understand the physical character of the surface was accomplished with a macroscopic roughness model. We find that the two types of surface have substantially different roughness, with the low-albedo surface exhibiting mean slope angles of ∼18°, and the high-albedo terrain having a much more substantial roughness with a mean slope angle of ∼34°. A single-scattering phase function approximated by a one-term Henyey-Greenstein equation was also fit to each unit. Titan's surface is back-scattering (g∼0.3-0.4), and does not exhibit substantially different backscattering behavior between the two terrains. Our results suggest that two distinct geophysical domains exist on Titan: a bright region cut by deep drainage channels and a relatively smooth surface. The two terrains are covered by a film or a coating of particles perhaps precipitated from the satellite's haze layer and transported by eolian processes. Our results are preliminary: more accurate values for the surface albedo and physical parameters will be derived as more data is gathered by the Cassini spacecraft and as a more complete radiative transfer model is developed from both Cassini orbiter and Huygens Lander measurements. 相似文献
20.
We analyzed a data cube of Neptune acquired with the Hubble STIS spectrograph on August 3, 2003. The data covered the full afternoon hemisphere at 0.1 arcsec spatial resolution between 300 and 1000 nm wavelength at 1 nm resolution. Navigation was accurate to 0.004 arcsec and 0.05 nm. We constrained the vertical aerosol structure with radiative transfer calculations. Ultraviolet data confirmed the presence of a stratospheric haze of optical depth 0.04 at 370 nm wavelength. Bright, discrete clouds, most abundant near latitudes −40° and 30°, had their top near the tropopause. They covered 1.7% of the observed disk if they were optically thick. The methane abundance above the cloud tops was 0.0026 and 0.0017 km-am for southern and northern clouds, respectively, identical to earlier observations by Sromovsky et al. (Sromovsky, L.A., Fry, P.M., Dowling, T.E., Baines, K.H., Limaye, S.S., [2001b]. Icarus 149, 459-488). Aside from these clouds, the upper troposphere was essentially clear. Below the 1.4-bar layer, a vertically uniform haze extended at least down to 10 bars with optical depth of 0.10-0.16/bar, depending on the latitude. Haze particles were bright at wavelengths above 600 nm, but darkened toward the ultraviolet, at the equator more so than at mid and high latitudes. A dark band near −60° latitude was caused by a 0.01 decrease of the single scattering albedo in the visible, which was close to unity. A comparison of methane and hydrogen absorptions contradicted the current view that methane is uniformly mixed in latitude and altitude below the ∼1.5-bar layer. The 0.04 ± 0.01 methane mixing ratio is only uniform at low latitudes. At high southern latitudes, it is depressed roughly between the 1.2 and 3.3-bar layers compared to low-latitude values. The maximum depression factor is ∼2.7 at 1.8 bars. We present models with 2° latitude sampling across the full sunlit globe that fit the observed reflectivities to 2.8% rms. 相似文献